In what is seen as parts of efforts to stabilise supply in the domestic market and ease the recent surge in pump prices, Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMN) on Thursday confirmed that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has set a target to release up to 600 million litres of petrol monthly.
According to the marketers, the new distribution framework is been finalised with 20 selected marketers that will see the release of up to 600 million litres of petrol monthly to stabilise the Nigerian downstream market amid lingering supply challenges and rising pump prices.
The National Public Relations Officer of IPMN Chinedu Ukadike, on Thursday, who confirmed that the refinery recently held a strategic meeting with key players in the downstream sector, added the meeting, which included representatives of A.Y.M. Shafa, A. A Rano, NNPCL Retail, Salbas, and several other major distributors, focused on how to streamline product allocation and reduce the layers of middlemen contributing to price distortions.
“At the meeting, Dangote announced plans to sell to only 20 selected marketers who will serve as primary distributors to other dealers. Each of them will lift a minimum of two million litres, which will translate to about 600 million litres every month,” Ukadike said, just as he also explained that the move was part of the refinery’s strategy to stabilise supply, eliminate speculation, and restore efficiency in product delivery across the country.
“We believe that once this structure takes effect, petrol availability will improve significantly and retail prices will start to ease,” he added.
